Ten & Rose: A Returned Life (Updated)
by Xephina The Eleven
Summary: (NO SMUT!) Rose managed to get back to her universe w/o tearing a hole in the fabric of reality. She waits for the Doctor in Cardiff while working for Torchwood, knowing he will turn up soon enough. (This is an updated version of a previously uploaded fic that is still on my profile if you want to read my terrible writing from 4 years ago.)
1. Chapter 1: Together Again

**Rose's POV:**

" _Another day at Torchwood,"_ Rose thought as she grabbed her coat and headed out the door. Despite the warmth the sun had brought, the dark of night now wrapped its frigid hands around the town of Cardiff. Cars and people looked like mere shadows, the amber street lamps revealing their silhouettes as they busied themselves with the harmless events of their lives.

Torchwood tower loomed over the surrounding buildings as if it were just as ominous as the mysteries it held. Bowing her head against the wind the blonde girl made her way to the entrance.

"Well hello!" Jack's flirtatious tone was only emphasized by the way he draped himself against the door frame as Rose clocked in for the night shift.

She was in no mood for his antics. Though his intentions were good, all she really wanted to do was get her work done. "Jack, stop it."

"I was just saying hello! Why does everyone think that's flirting?!" The ex-time agent spread his arms dramatically as he spoke as if his outstretched hand would grasp at an answer.

Rose took her time before replying, she didn't want him to get the satisfaction out of messing with her. Hopefully if she bored him now, he wouldn't pester her for the rest of their shift; so, she kept her response simple, "That's flirting for you."

He seemed to pick up the hint well enough, letting his gaze rest on a computer monitor nearby, "Whatever, what are you working on tonight?"

"Sorting and editing public files about aliens." Rose sighed, pressing the button on the wall that would call the lift to their floor, "What about you?"

Jack tapped on his keyboard a few times before he rolled his eyes dramatically, though he didn't speak until he joined Rose in the now arrived elevator. "Another night of checking security logs…I wish we were allowed to drink at work."

She didn't reply, her mind was elsewhere like it was much of the time these days. Five and a half years ago she had been stripped of what felt like her entire life, and perhaps she had. For two years she had traveled the stars with the Doctor, a 900 year-old Timelord, and they had been some of the best of her life. Then one day she found herself trapped in a parallel world, separated from the life…and person she had grown to love.

Still, she never gave up hope that she could find her way back to her own world without tearing apart the fabric of reality, and eventually her determination paid off. Six months ago with the help of parallel Torchwood, she finally managed to create a machine that folded the walls of time and space making it possible to slip through, and that's exactly what she did.

Now she worked a full time job at Torchwood in the hope that they could track down the Doctor. So far, he hadn't turned up, but if he was going to arrive on Earth anytime soon, then this is where he would be.

After an hour, Rose was certain she was going to die of boredom; even the ceiling tiles had become more interesting than her work. As she was editing yet another document on Weevils, the droning of the machines downstairs seemed to get louder until it resonated into a sound that nearly caused her to drop her papers.

She scrambled for the communicator on her desk, "Jack, do you hear that, or am I going crazy?"

"You're completely sane, I hear it too." Rose hardly heard his reply come through the speaker as she jumped up and bolted for the door.

She and Jack met on the stairs, both under the influence that the lift was too slow. Swiftly they made their way out of the Tower, only just managing not to get knocked out by the TARDIS as it soared over their heads, narrowly avoiding Torchwood Tower.

The time-machine's engines wheezed to a halt, leaving in the surrounding area a deafening silence. The back of the TARDIS faced the Torchwood pair as a squeak broke the quiet of night. The doors opened on the other side followed by the Doctor's converse clad tread.

Rose forced herself to stay where she was, and barely noticed Jack standing by her side as the Doctor came into view. He wore a brown pin-striped suit, accompanied by his blue tie and dirty white converse, topped off with the tan trench coat in his hands. When he came around the courner his chocolate brown eyes locked with hers.

 **Doctor's POV:**

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor rushed around the console as his time-machine lurched to the side. He flipped leavers, hit buttons and only just managed not to crash into the side of Torchwood Tower.

The landing was far from smooth and almost knocked him off his feet. It was as though the TARDIS was eager to soak up the energy from the spacio-temporal rift that ran through the heart of Cardiff.

Grabbing his trench coat he checked that his sonic screwdriver and psychic paper were tucked safely within its pockets before stepping out. It was rather cold for early autumn, probably sometime around midnight judging by the stars.

 _Perhaps Jack is on duty._ No sooner had the thought run through the Timelord's mind did he round the edge of the TARDIS. The Doctor was right about the ex-time agent, but that wasn't what stopped him dead in his tracks, causing his hearts to skip a beat.

Standing next to Jack was Rose Tyler, his lovely companion who had travelled the stars with him for two years. He had lost her to a parallel universe for more than double that time without having been able to tell her how he felt about her. The time without her had been excruciating, despite having another companion named Martha, he had never gotten over Rose.

Now he could scarcely believe she was standing 20 feet away, he dropped his coat as Rose ran into his arms, the way they always used to after dangerous adventures. For the first time in the Doctor's life, time didn't matter; as they stood wrapped in each other's embrace for what could have been moments or hours.

They only untangled themselves when Jack piped up, "We should really go back to our posts."

The Doctor pulled back and held Rose by her shoulders, her eyes shining in the half-light, "How did you manage to get back…you didn't use a dimension jumper, did you?!"

 **Rose's POV:**

With the Doctor's arms around her, Rose finally let herself think how lonely she had felt over the past five and a half years. Just how broken she had been.

"Rose we should really go back to our posts," Jack looked at the tower worriedly as if it were going to turn against them.

They pulled apart from their embrace, but the Doctor left his hands on her shoulders, letting his chocolate brown eyes rest on hers. "How did you manage to get back…you didn't use a dimension jumper, did you?!"

Rose smiled at his worry, "No, in the other universe I worked for parallel Torchwood and reformed it. We began work on a machine that folds the walls of the universe to let you through rather than ripping them apart. I used that to get back, and it teleported me right onto the roof of the real Torchwood tower where Mr. Harkness here was on break. He was so shocked he almost fell off the building, not that that would have killed him," She giggled. "I've been back for about six months with no way of contacting you; but, I knew you would come to Cardiff sooner or later."

"Holy…TARDIS…of…Gallifrey." The Timelord's stunned expression all but sent the bottle blonde into a fit of laughter.

"I hate to break up this reunion but we really need to get back inside before the tower locks us out." Jack's anxious tone was followed by his footsteps as he began to walk back towards the entrance, the Doctor and Rose following in his wake. Once they were safely inside the building, the ex-time agent spoke up again, "So, what brings you to Cardiff?"

The Doctor smiled, his normal cheeky grin sending a rush of nostalgia through Rose. "Refueling, that's why the landing was so bad."

The blonde couldn't help but laugh the first real laugh she'd had in years, "It seemed fairly normal to me."

"Hey!" Though he sounded indignant, the sparkle in the Doctor's eyes revealed his humor, "Last I checked you couldn't fly her very well either."

Jack watched the two with side-splitting laughter as Rose formulated her retort, "Yes, but I haven't had centuries of practice, have I?" With her comment the TimeLord's resolve finally broke and he too fell into the grip of laughter.


	2. Chapter 2: Sadie

**Rose's POV:**

Slowly the trio's laughter died, though, every time they looked at one another, the silence would set them off again. The chime of Rose's mobile phone drew finally their attention away from their persisting giggles.

Pulling the small piece of human technology from her jacket pocket, she answered, cutting the chiming off abruptly. "Hello?"

" _Hi sweetie, sorry for bothering you at work, I was wondering if I could drop Sadie off there."_ Jackie's voice came from the other side of the phone, with what sounded like a child crying behind her. _"She had another nightmare, and she only wants you, this is what happens when you tell her all those st-"_

Rose cut her mother off, she didn't feel like hearing yet another lecture on her bedtime stories, "Mum it's fine if you drop her off, I'll see you soon."

"Sadie?" The Doctor sounded confused as he asked anyone who would answer him about the little girl.

"Hush!" Rose piped before going back to her phone; she didn't have time at the moment to explain who Sadie was. "Mum? Are you going to bring her?"

 _"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can."_ Jackie sounded indignant at being cut off by her daughter but she had too much to worry about with the crying child in the background. _"Who was that in the background?"_

Rose tried to hide her excitement, but she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, "The Doctor."

 _"Really?!"_ Her mother sounded as shocked as Rose had been, _"He finally came to Cardiff, what fo- You know what it can wait."_ Jackie trailed off for a moment and Rose could hear her soothing voice talking to Sadie. _"I'll be there soon, love you."_

"Love you too mum, see you soon." With that the blonde girl hung up her phone and placed it back in her pocket, turning back to face Jack and the Doctor.

"Sadie?" The tall alien looked confused, but Rose could almost say there was a darkness of disappointment in his eyes.

"Oh, calm down Doctor, Sadie is my little sister…well half-sister…I don't know. Parallel dad and real world mum, it's all a bit confusing really." As Rose spoke the air of disappointment about the Doctor changed to excitement.

His brown eyes brimmed with curiosity, "How old is she?" He looked as excited as he did whenever they landed on a new planet or discovered some type of unknown alien.

Rose was happy to share in his excitement; actually she was happy to be with him at all. "She's four…and she knows all about you."

The TimeLord looked taken aback, "How so?"

Rose giggled at the Doctor's confusion, "I've told her a few…and by a few I mean many of our adventures as bedtime stories."

As he smiled, Rose couldn't help but smile back, "Really, does she like me?" He asked pompously.

"Oh yes! She thinks you're the best person in the universe," She glanced mischievously at the Doctor as she continued, "Well, next to me."

"Next to you," He repeated meeting her eyes. "Well that can be expected as you are the best person in the universe, even to me."


	3. Chapter 3: Love

**Rose's POV:**

Rose couldn't help but throw her arms around the Doctor, locking them in an embrace that she had longed for for so many years. That was when he whispered in her ear the one thing she knew he had been trying to tell her back on the beach in parallel Norway, "I love you."

Pulling back from the hug, Rose planted a light kiss on his lips before turning back to see a more than slightly baffled Jack Harkness. The ex-time agent didn't get a chance to stare at them long before the heater clicked on causing papers to fly from Rose's office and all over the lobby.

"Oh my stars!" The blonde squeaked, "I forgot I dropped all my papers when I heard the TARDIS!" The Doctor and Jack jumped to help as Rose darted around the lobby trying to pick up and sort through her frenzy of paperwork.

"How many are there?!" The Doctor was hardly visible through the pyroclastic flow of paper yet she would still see his arms already stacked with the objects in question.

Jack replied from the other side of the room before Rose had a chance, "Take the number of aliens in Torchwood's files and multiply that by at least ten!"

"Someone turn off the heating!" Rose's screech was barely audible through the rustling of paper and panicked footsteps.

The Doctor popped up next to her, papers and sonic screwdriver in hand, "Where's the thermostat?"

Rose glanced past him, "It's on the wall to the right of my office!" The TimeLord ran across the room, hurdling a table and dodging papers as he went. The familiar whir of his sonic screwdriver was followed by the clicking of the heater turning back off, and with that the papers began to settle.

A knock on the door drew their attention away from the mess, "You guys start picking up papers while I go get my mum and Sadie," and with that Rose slipped out of the room.

 **Doctor's POV:**

With a glance between each other, he and Jack obeyed Rose's order and began to pick up papers. When the Doctor looked up he saw a little girl in Rose's arms who must have been Sadie, Jackie trailing right behind. The brunet had a moment of almost vertigo; Sadie looked almost exactly like her sister, if Rose didn't dye her hair blonde. Sadie eyes were a glimmering hazel and her hair a dark brown, which he guessed was probably Rose's natural hair colour.

The Doctor was pulled from his thoughts as Sadie spoke, pointing at the Doctor. "Rosie, who's that?"

The TimeLord couldn't help but smile at the little girl's words, "Rosie?"

She gave him a playful glare before answering her sister, "That's the Doctor."

Sadie gasped audibly and looked at Rose in disbelief, he hazel eyes wide with shock and awe. "Is it really him?"

"It really is," Rose said with a little laugh.

The Doctor's grin grew wider at the excitement that lit up not only in Sadie but Rose as well, "Hello."

As her sister set the four year-old back on her feet, she ran up to him, "You're really the Doctor? The man in the Blue Box?"

He crouched down so he was at her level, "Yes, I really am."

Without warning Sadie threw her arms around him, and she was so sweet and innocent, The Doctor couldn't help but gently return her embrace. When she pulled back she looked him straight in the eyes, "Thank you!"

He tried to repress the surprise and not let it show but he could tell by Rose's snickering that he had failed, "What for?"

Sadie looked thoughtful for a moment before she tried to respond, "Saving the un-un-"

"Universe," Rose finished, helping her little sister who was having trouble pronouncing the three syllable word.

"Un-i-verse," she said slowly, looking up proudly at him as she said the word she had formerly struggled with.

Standing back up, he gave Sadie the same respect she had given him, and looked her in the eyes that resembled Rose's, possibly more than they should have. "You're welcome little one." He ruffled her hair before she ran back over to her big sister, who picked the little girl up once more.

Turning his attention away from Rose's little sister, his eyes rested on their mother, "Jackie!" His comment was immediately greeted by a slap to the face, "Ow! What was that for?! I should have expected it, but what was it for?!"

"For leaving us at that bloody bay in the parallel universe!" He could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to say worse, but wasn't about to do so in front of a four year-old, but he could also see the humor behind her stern gaze.

"Sorry, I didn-" The Doctor's attempt at an apology was cut short as Jackie hugged him, "Okay we're hugging now," He looked up at Rose, "Your mother's confusing."

"Tell me about it," Rose laughed, rolling her eyes dramatically.

Despite the slap to the face, he hugged her back, "It's good to see you again Jackie."

She was silent for a moment, but when she spoke again, the TimeLord knew she was making use of his oldest rule _'using a hug to hide your face'_ , because her voice was so quiet only he could hear it. "You listen to me; you take care of my daughter. Don't you dare let go of her again. She cares about you more than anyone else and I can't watch her go through what she went through again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am." He replied in a soldier's tone, before his voice slipped back into its usual whisper, "I'll die before I lose her again…you have my word."

Jackie pulled back from the hug and looked up at him, her eyes deadly serious, but her voice stayed light and airy, so not to alert the others to their conversation, "Then it's good to see you again Doctor. I'm sure I will hear all about your new adventures soon." She piped, looking over to her older daughter. "Well if that's all then I'll be on my way," and with that she walked back the way she had come. Just before she rounded the corner to leave she called back over her shoulder, "And clean up this mess, this room is worse than Sadie's."

The Doctor rubbed the side of his face where Jackie had slapped him, he hadn't said much but it had hurt, "Nine hundred years and it's always the mothers!"

Rose's eyes shimmered with laughter as she set her little sister down and walked over to the tall man. She stood up on tip-toe so to whisper in his ear the one thing he hadn't expected but it was joyous for him to hear all the same, "I love you too." With that she kissed him on the cheek and walked over to help Jack with the papers that littered the floor.


	4. Chapter 4: Time Angels

**Doctor's POV:**

The words Rose had spoken, and the kiss on the cheek left the Doctor dazed, he stood in shock for a brief moment before Jack's voice brought him back to reality. "Come help us will you?!"

The Doctor shook his head to clear it, walking over to help the duo pick up papers. Sadie was darting around trying to help by gathering papers for her sister. As the little girl ran off once more she was distracted by the bowl of fruit sitting on the table that the Doctor had jumped over earlier. "Rosie!" Sadie called to her older sister

Rose turned to look at her sister, her eyes glimmering in the florescent light of the lobby. "Yes Sadie?" The blonde walked over to the girl who gestured dramatically at the bowl of fruit. Rose smiled and pulled from it a banana and peeled it before handing it off to the little girl, "Don't pick up any more papers until you've washed your hands!" Rose called after her as she ran off again; she stared after her for a moment more before turning and walking over to the Doctor. The blonde must have seen the quizzical look in his eyes, because she spoke before he had that chance. "She wanted a banana…banana's are good."

The tall brunet smiled at her impression of his past incarnation, "Well they are." He laughed.

Slowly and tediously as the night went on they managed to pick up the papers and put them back where they belonged. Somewhere during the process Sadie had fallen asleep on one of the sofas in the lobby. Now they were finally making the room look less like a paper mill, but the Doctor nearly dropped his papers when Sadie woke up shrieking.

Rose darted from her office to the little girl's side, and he had to admit he was in awe of how quickly she calmed down and put the tiny sniffling human back to sleep.

When the older of the two sisters stood back up to continue working with the paper, the Doctor called out to her quietly, "Was she okay?"

The blonde looked up her eyes dark, and walked over to him. "Yeah…she just has some pretty fierce nightmares."

Suddenly a curious feeling of urgency came over him as he remembered a seemingly harmless piece of information, Rose told Sadie their adventures as bedtime stories. "Rose…what was her nightmare about? Did she tell you?"

Rose looked distraught as she whispered her words, "The Daleks."

The Doctor tried to push the tone of anger from his voice, but it slipped through anyway, "You told a four year-old about the Daleks?!"

The blonde's head shot up and her eyes were alight with indignation as they met his, "No!" Suddenly the flame of indignation was replaced with regret, "Sorry…I didn't mean to snap. "No I didn't tell her about them."

Now the Doctor was truly confused, who else could have told her, Jack maybe, but he doubted that. "Then how does she know about the Daleks?"

Rose hung her head, putting her hands over her face. "It's my fault! She lives around me!" Her outburst took the Doctor by surprise.

Surprise was quickly replaced by worry as his mind raced over the possibilities, "Have the Daleks attacked you?!"

Rose looked back up at him quickly, "I thank any power that may be that they haven't." Her gaze flitted for a moment over the little girl, "No…but she is so much like me…she can see very small parts of time."

If he was confused before, now he was completely lost, "What do you mean? What's that have to do with this?"

Rose's voice was hardly audible as she responded, "The Time Vortex, the heart of the TARDIS…part of it…a very small part as left after you extracted it from me. Over time it became stronger…until I could see all of time and space again." The Doctor would have thought she was joking if it wasn't for the deadly serious tone in her voice.

"How- that's not possible," The Doctor struggled to find the right words, "You should have burned by now!" He mentally slapped himself at his outburst.

Rose smiled sadly, "No…it's like an antibiotic…after you use it a few times the disease becomes immune to it, in this case I'm the disease." She looked up at him and he could see the gold light of the time vortex intertwined with her hazel irises, and he wondered how he hadn't seen it before. "Have you ever heard of Time Angels?"

The Doctor thought for a moment and in the depths of his memories he recalled something he had been told centuries ago on Gallifrey before he was told to look into the Vortex himself, "Yes…once. They are incredibly rare, so much so that even TimeLords hadn't really had the chance to study them. All we knew was that they were made, not born…and they could travel space, time and universes without even a vortex manipulator."

Rose's eyes seemed to actually shine now with the intensity of her manner, "I know." She turned from him and took a small mechanism from the table, "This is a life-form scanner."

She pressed a small button on the side and a green light showered over him, when it cut of a robotic female voice projected from it, "Species TimeLord. Known to have two hearts, and capable of regenerating in the face of death, but only twelve times."

Rose handed the small object to the Doctor and he looked down at it with curiosity, "What do you want me to do with it?"

She stood a little straighter, looking at the scanner in his hands, "Scan me." He pressed the button on the side as she had done, and he was rewarded with the same shower of green light.

"Species Time Angel. Known to be able to travel in time and space." The Doctor was shocked at what the female voice said, but that couldn't prepare him for what it said next, "Previous species, Human Female and TimeLord."

He glanced back up at Rose to see a pair of wings behind her that looked like they were made of star dust. They were completely gold, and yet they seemed to shift between every color in the spectrum, the only word he could find to describe them was; angelic. Each one was at least three times the girl's height and shimmered at the slightest movement. They cast a glow on Rose's face that made her seem even more graceful, which the Doctor hadn't thought possible, and in the same breath made her deadly powerful.

"Bu-But how?!" The Doctor struggled to formulate a coherent response.

"Time Angels are made not born," Rose quoted the scanner, "From exposure to the Time Vortex."

"And you're-" For once in his life, his voice failed him, he couldn't find words through his awe.

Rose let her wings glisten into disappearance before she spoke, "A Time Angel…Yes I am." She looked up at him her eyes once again their normal hazel. "And I'll go ahead and answer your next question before you ask it. For a human to become a Time Angel is a difficult process, a human heart can't handle both the blood and time energy that must course through it, so they must first make the transformation into a TimeLord, before becoming a full Time Angel."

 **Rose's POV:**

Rose was shocked by the Doctor's response, he pulled her into a tight embrace, "I can't believe it! You're more powerful than me!" When he pulled back he spoke once more, "I could learn so much from you!"

She couldn't help but smile up at the one person in the universe she held on a pedestal above anyone else. His fascination had always been part of what she loved about him, "I'll be happy to tell you anything you want to know but only if you promise not to tell anyone else…not even my family knows."

"Your secret's safe with me." He promised looking down at her.

Rose looked away, her heart sinking as she thought of an awful truth, "There is one more thing."

"What?" She could hear the concern in the Doctor's voice, but she didn't dare look at him.

The blonde took a deep breath before she spoke, "Being a Time Angel…it makes you immortal."

"You'll finally understand what it's like to be me." His words took her by surprise and she looked up to see his eyes were sad as they always looked when he thought about the fate of Gallifrey. "You know what I'm going to tell you, but I still have to say it…you're going to out-live all your friends and family…including me eventually. The sooner you come to terms with that…the better off you'll be." His voice seemed quiet in comparison to the churning of the machines in Torchwood Tower.

For the first time in quite a while, Rose felt a glimmer of hope, "It doesn't necessarily have to be that way."

"What do you mean?" The look of perplexity that crossed his face actually made her giggle.

"If you are exposed to a very small portion of the Time Vortex, then you can become a Time Angel as well." Rose looked up at him hopefully, praying that he would agree, "And the transformation wouldn't take as long for you, because you're already a TimeLord…it would only take a few hours, a day at most."

He looked worried at the idea, and Rose tried not to let her disappointment show. This was her only chance to have someone she cared about by her side for the rest of eternity. She had already accepted the fate of her family and friends, but she wasn't sure she could accept that same fate for the Doctor. "How would I be exposed to the Time Vortex…because I'm not exactly eager to look into the heart of the TARDIS."

Rose's hearts soared, he hadn't completely dismissed the idea, and she knew the solution to his dilemma, "You won't have to do that, if I have your permission I can do it myself." She smiled up at him, "For your first lesson about Time Angels, I can tell you this, if a Time Angel deems a person worthy and good-hearted they can transfer a small part of the Time Vortex into them and let them too become a Time Angel to help carry the burden of the universe. That's how Time Angels are usually made, but I didn't follow the rules…never really have to be honest."

The Doctor laughed, his good spirit infectious, so Rose couldn't help but feel high-spirited. "You have my permission, and I'm honored that you think I am _'worthy and good-hearted'_ but how does transferring the Time Vortex work?"

Rose looked up at him cheekily, "Like this." She touched his shoulder gently with two fingers, feeling the power of time and space rush through her fingertips.

He jumped back slightly, "Ow!"

"Sorry, I should have told you it feels like an electric shock." Rose said joyously as the Doctor rubbed his shoulder, "But on the bright side, you should be a Time Angel by the time the TARDIS is ready to fly."


	5. Chapter 5: Flashback

**Rose's POV:**

Rose scanned her card to clock out as Jack spoke with Ianto before the end of their shift, "Do you mind coving for Rose sometimes?" The ex-time agent purred

Rose rolled her eyes but Ianto didn't seem to mind, "Of course I don't, but why do I need to."

Jack cast a knowing glance in her direction, "She's going to on vacation for a while and probably won't be here much." The blonde smiled and walked away leaving the two to their conversation.

As she thought over her shift, everything seemed surreal, the events that had happened in only a matter of hours felt like a lifetime. With having the Doctor return, Sadie coming to spend the night, the debacle with the paperwork and the reveal of her being a Time Angel, she felt as if there was no way all of that could have happened in one shift.

A pair of small arms wrapping around her waist robbed her of her thoughts, "Bye Rosie!" Sadie squealed, and Rose looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway with Pete.

"See you later," Rose hugged her little sister and watched after her as she ran back to her parents, knowing just how long it may be until she saw the small girl again, but how short a time span it would be for her.

"You'll see her again, and it won't be that long for her," The Doctor's voice echoed Rose's thoughts as he came to stand next to her.

She tore her eyes away from her sister and turned to look at him, "How can you always tell what I'm thinking?"

"I've lived for over 900 years, I think it's a wonder I can't read minds yet," He flashed a grin at her, "No I can just tell what you're thinking by your eyes. You humans are pretty close to truth when you say, _'The eyes are windows to the soul.'_ If you know what you're looking for, you can always tell what is going through someone's thoughts if you look at their eyes." Rose blushed as they made their way to the door and towards the TARDIS.

"Hey wait for me!" The duo turned around as Jack's voice rang above the whistling of the early morning wind. "Don't leave without saying goodbye!"

The Doctor chuckled as Jack ran up to join them, "Oh we're not leaving just yet; the TARDIS still has to charge for a while."

"Where are you headed?" Rose pulled her jacket tighter around her as the wind swept a biting cold across the city.

Jack looked over the two dramatically, "Down to the pub." Words were followed by an emphatic sigh, "I need a drink, wanna join me?"

The Doctor was quick to reply, "No, I need to check on the TARDIS." He cast a glance over to his faithful time-machine.

Jack let his gaze rest on Rose, "What about you?" She could swear he flirted when he didn't even realize he was doing it.

"Sorry Jack I'm with him," The blonde replied with a gesture towards the Doctor.

The ex-time agent didn't seem bothered by their decline, "I figured as much." He started in the other direction, "I'll see you around, and make sure to stop by Cardiff once in a while."

"Will do," The tall brunet responded, watching their friend go, "And try not to get the earth into too much trouble while we're gone."

Jack stopped and turned back with a cheeky smile, "Oh no Doctor…that's your job," And with that he turned back and disappeared around the corner of Torchwood Tower.

With Jack on his way, the duo started back towards the blue box that sat in the middle of the court yard atop the rift in time and space. When they stepped inside, Rose couldn't help the gasp that escaped her as she looked around at the coral pillars, the grated flooring, and the main console. All the elements that had made up her home for almost two years, all the things she had longed to see again just one more time, and now here she was faced with them once more.

The Doctor turned and looked at her worriedly, "What? What is it? Are you okay?" Rose hardly heard the flow of questions as she took in her surroundings.

"I never thought I'd set foot in here again!" She laughed turning in a circle, so not to miss a single detail of the console room that had never seemed more hypnagogic.

Rose turned back to the Doctor as he spoke, his eyes glittering with euphoria, "It's great to have you back." After a moment he walked over to the TARDIS's main console, "It will be a few hours before she's fully recharged.

To be honest, the blonde didn't care, she was just glad to be back at all, "That's fine."

After a brief time, the Doctor's voice broke the silence, "How did come to realize you were a Time Angel?"

Rose stopped and looked at the alien, his eyes shined with curiosity; he always wanted to learn something new. "It started with me seeing slivers of the Time Vortex, and it only escalated from there. At first I would have intense headaches," Rose took a deep breath at the memory of the pain, "They faded with time, then I notice the double heartbeat. A quick trip to parallel Torchwood to scan my species told me I was a TimeLord…you can imagine my shock when I found that out," She paused as the Doctor laughed at her exaggerated expression of shock. "After that it was only a matter of hours before the reading on the scanner changed from TimeLord to Time Angel." There was a few seconds of silence before Rose continued, "Now for your second lesson on Time Angels."

The Doctor looked even more intrigued if that was possible, "Please, enlighten me."

Rose smiled at his eagerness, he could have written encyclopedias with his knowledge and knowing him, he probably had. "You will be truly immortal as a Time Angel…that means no more regenerating."

He smiled cheekily, his eyes twinkling in the light of the console room, "Then it's a good thing I like this incarnation." He looked down at his clothes, "And have a decent taste in fashion…I still cringe when I think of the incarnation of me that wore a vegetable as an accessory," He shuttered dramatically as he finished.

"Wait, wha- you know what, I don't want to know." Rose laughed.

 **Doctor's POV (Flashback):**

 _"Why do humans need so much sleep?"_ The Doctor thought to himself as he glanced at the clock, the hands reading three in the morning. Martha, his current companion was asleep in her room down the corridor, and the Doctor was left to his own mind, which never proved to be a good thing.

He wandered the halls in boredom for quite some time, not really paying attention to where his feet led him. Eventually he looked up only to find himself in the Personal Section of the TARDIS's library. _"Why did you lead me here?"_ He asked the sentient machine silently, and in response a blue and pink binder flew from the shelves and landed in one of the chairs nearby.

The Doctor walked cautiously towards the binder as it fell open to its first page, and suddenly he felt his hearts shatter. He understood what the TARDIS meant, the binder was something he hadn't dared look through since the Battle of Canary Warf, Rose's scrapbook of their adventures together. Gently he lifted the book as if the memories it held would fade away at the slightest touch, and he sank down into the chair on which it had landed. Slowly he began to thumb through the pages, taking in every detail of each picture and caption to the point where he was certain he could have recreated Rose's handwriting if he wanted to do so.

He hadn't noticed the tears that had begun to fill his eyes until he got to the Christmas with the Sycorax, and they spilled over onto his cheeks. The caption to go with the pictures, _The Christmas Invasion_ fit as perfectly with the adventure as the rest had.

As he continued on he came across a picture of Rose staring up at a black hole with the caption _The Impossible Planet / Satan's Pit_ as if she couldn't decide on a name. He smiled sadly to himself as he wondered why she hadn't called it _The Bitter Pill_ after claiming to like the metaphor so much.

The next page had a picture of him holding the torch at the 2012 Olympic Games in London labeled, _Fear Her._ After that the pictures were carelessly tucked into one of the pockets, pulling one from its place he saw himself with his ghost catching equipment standing next to Rose, the both of them smiling.

 _"How could I have been so happy only hours before I lost her?!"_ He screamed in his mind, looking down at the captionless pictures. The Doctor decided that it would be a dishonor to Rose if he didn't put the pictures into place and give them a caption. As he placed them, he began to understand Rose's dilemma of choosing only one name, and narrowed it down to two, _Army of Ghosts / Doomsday_.

Just as he was about to close the binder and put it back on the shelf a piece of notebook paper with Rose's handwriting caught his eye. Gingerly he took it from the place where it had managed to stay hidden and began to read the words the paper masked.

 _D_ _ear Doctor,_

 _I don't know what has brought this to my attention, but I have a terrible feeling that we will not be traveling together for much longer. After what the beast said about me dying in battle I want to be able to say goodbye, so here it is._

 _I hope you never have to read this, but if you do that means I am no longer traveling with you in the Tardis. I don't want you to stop living your life because I'm no longer with you. Find someone else to travel with you, someone to keep you on a good path. Don't fall back into your old ways and remember how happy I was and give someone else the experience of the universe!_

 _I want you to know that I will always love you and no matter what we will see each other again one day...you might look a little different but that won't matter to me!_

 _I love you and I don't want you to live in sorrow over some annoying little shop girl. So go on and enjoy your life, I will see you one day!_

 _Love,_

 _Rose Marion Tyler._

The Doctor lost count of how many times he read the letter before he tucked it back into its place, putting the book back on the shelf. Though his hearts were broken he felt a since of closure having read the letter, and he silently thanked the TARDIS before making his way back to the console room.

 **Doctor's POV (Present):**

Thinking about the memory made the Doctor ecstatic to have Rose back by his side once more, and for the first time let himself think of how painful it had been without her. A series of beeps from the TARDIS's main console told the Doctor she was fully charged and ready to fly.

"What was that?" Rose's voice reached him just before she stepped into view, a cup of tea cradled in her hands.

The Doctor smiled at her, "The TARDIS is fully charged and ready to go."

Rose looked at him for a moment before she responded, "One thing first, do you have a life form scanner?"

"There's one built into the main monitor," He said looking at her in confusion as she walked towards the console.

"Here stand in front of it," She piped, turning the monitor to face him, and suddenly a green light showered over him once more.

When it cut off the TARDIS's voice came soothingly through the monitor's speakers, "Species Time Angel. Known to be able to travel in time and space."

He glanced over to see Rose's eyes twinkling in delight, she was as happy as he was, and if at all possible, more.

He smiled at her making sure she knew just how excited he was, "Where would you like to go?"

She gave him a knowing look before responding in a lofty tone, "That way."


	6. Chapter 6: Friends

**Doctor's POV:**

The Doctor was comfortably sat in the Library reading _The Hunger Games_ after seeing just how big the franchise was in the 21st century. Katniss what about to go into the arena when he both felt and heard the TARDIS take off.

Jumping to his feet, he ran for the console room, "ROSE! What are you doing?!" He called though he was still some ways down the corridor.

"I didn't do anything! I thought it was you!" Her voice echoed from somewhere behind him, in the opposite direction of the main console room.

The Doctor burst into the control room, the console was smoking a switches and levers moved on their own, "Where are you taking us?!" He yelped at the TARDIS as he darted around, trying to apply some kind of order to the situation. He vaguely noticed Rose run into the room, only to fall into the aviator's chair when the time machine lurched again. With one final jerk, the engines wheezed to a halt leaving the room in an eerie silence as Rose and the Doctor caught their breath.

Finally Rose's voice filled the quiet room, "Where are we?"

He glanced at the monitor, but the TARDIS didn't reveal a thing, "Not a-"

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing landing the TARDIS in my living room?!" Despite the door between them and the outside, they could hear Jackie's shriek clear as a bell.

The Doctor's head swiveled from the door to look at Rose, "I take that back, we're at your house."

She looked over at him with exaggerated sarcasm, "You don't say!" With that she jumped out of the chair and started for the door, "Come on, let's go see how bad the damage is…and hope she doesn't slap you again."

Rubbing the side of his face he started for the door with Rose on his heels, "Yeah, I only just recovered from the last time."

 **Rose's POV:**

As the doors swung open, Rose could see the shattered remains of what was once her mother's glass coffee table. "If I recall correctly, this isn't the first time you two have broken my table!" Jackie's trite reply came from the kitchen on the right.

She couldn't help but laugh as she thought about the second time she had met the Doctor; a living plastic arm had tried to kill them. They were trying to get it off of Rose when they had fallen on a very similar coffee table, which had shattered like the one under their feet now. She guessed the Doctor was recalling the same memory as he too was riddled with laughter.

The tall brunet managed to speak between the bouts of chuckling, "I still don't know how you didn't hear it the first time, we were yelling when we fell."

Her mother's eyes were alight with an angry fire, "I was blow drying my hair!"

The Doctor merely tilted his head, smiling, "Honestly, you humans can be so daft."

"Oi! I am not daft!" Jackie clipped off her every word in indignation at the Doctor's harmless comment. Rose had learned to expect and respect his light-hearted mocking of other species, and silently thanked him for referring to her as _human_ , keeping his promise to hide her secret.

"Wellll…" The Doctor dragged out the word _well_ in a way that had become so endearing over the years.

Rose pushed down her laughter before she spoke, trying to seem serious for her mother's sake, "Doctor, remember what I said about getting slapped."

"Yes sorry," He stepped away from the irreparable table, turning to face Jackie, who still looked ready to murder the alien, "We didn't land the TARDIS in your living room, she landed herself."

"She?" Jackie looked at the blue box in confusion, "It's alive?"

"Yes!" The Doctor sounded offended, "She's a living, breathing thing like you or me…only better!"

"Well okay then, sor-"'

"Mummy! Where are you mummy?!" The Doctor and Rose both jumped, looking in every direction for the masked Chula Zombie, before Sadie ran in crying and the front door clicked shut behind her. The Doctor visibly relaxed, but her guard stayed up, she wanted to know why her sister was so upset.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Jackie said, picking up the small girl to keep her away from the broken glass.

"Cassandra-kicked-me!" Sadie wailed, and that's all it took for Rose to turn on her heel and stomp out the door fuming. She knew full well who _Cassandra_ was, and that didn't make the situation any better.

 **Doctor's POV:**

The Doctor followed as Rose stormed out the door in pursuit of the girl who was bullying her little sister. When he stepped outside he saw Rose looking down at a small blonde, no more than five years old. "Ros-"

"Who do you think you are, licking my little sister?!" Rose snapped, cutting the Doctor off as the little girl looked up at her fearfully.

"Rose." His voice was calm as he tried to make her see reason, the little girl had been wrong to kick Sadie, but she had had her punishment.

She whipped around, and he waited for her to spit every foul name she knew at him, but her gaze softened, "Coming." She cast a final glare at Cassandra, but the girl was already running back up the street towards her own home.

Once out of ear shot of the little girl, the Doctor couldn't help but voice the question that had been nagging at him since Sadie came in crying. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but was that _Cassandra_ , as in Cassandra O'Brian.Δ 17?"

Rose glanced back in the directing that the girl had run before she responded, her voice uncharacteristically flat, "Yes, and she's a snot, even as a little kid. Now I know why she hates me so much in the future." Turning back to look at the Doctor, she spoke again, "And before you ask, no, I don't know how she ends up millions of years in the future as a bitchy trampoline."

The Doctor stared glanced blankly from Rose, to where the little girl had been standing, and back again, "How old is she? Now I mean."

"Five." Rose said simply as they walked back in the door to see Sadie sitting in Jackie's lap, no longer crying. "Are you okay?" Rose's voice was gentle, and the Doctor couldn't help but do a double take at her quick change in demeanor.

Sadie nodded, sniffling, "I-I'm okay."

Rose hugged her sister tightly, "Good, you're a strong girl." She piped before returning to the Doctor's side.

"Rose." Jackie looked at her oldest daughter as Sadie ran off to her room, "You're friend called while you were outside."

"Which one?" Rose asked, watching her sister until the door closed behind her.

The Doctor couldn't help but look at Jackie in horror as she replied, "Martha Jones."

 _ **Please Comment!**_

-Xephina The Eleven


	7. Chapter 7: Trampoline Room

**Doctor's POV:**

Rose didn't seem to notice how horror-struck the Doctor as, and he was so dazed he barely heard her response, "Alright, did she say how long she would be?"

Jackie caught his eye but seemed to brush off his reaction, "She said she was in the area and would be-" She was cut short by the chime of the doorbell, "Right here." As Rose walked to answer the door, he leaned against the TARDIS, shell shocked, Jackie casting him another strange glance.

Rose's voice echoed down the front corridor from the door, "Hey, what's up?"

Martha's laugh followed, "Have I ever got some stories to tell you! I bet you won't believe them!"

Rose seemed amused as she spoke, "Oh I bet I will, come on in." The sound of footsteps closely followed Rose's words.

When they entered the room the edge of the door way stood between him and Martha, so he could just barely see her but she couldn't see him. He debated slipping into the TARDIS to hide but he knew she would see it and recognize it immediately, so it was better to face her. He was torn from his train of thought as he saw the engagement ring on her finger, and he was instantly happy for her, she had found someone who loved her as much as she loved them.

Soon Rose caught his eye and spoke again, "Oh, there's someone I want you to meet!" Martha walked forward and locked eyes with him and stopped dead in her tracks. "This is the Doc- John Smith."

Martha shook of her shock, and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes that told him she had the intention of pulling a prank on Rose. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Smith, I believe you were my patient at the hospital one day." Rose looked confused and the Doctor was still too stunned to move when Martha broke down laughing, "I'm sorry! I can't help it!" She laughed.

Rose looked from the Doctor to Martha, "Would someone please tell me what's going on here?"

Martha managed to get a few words out between her fits of giggles, "I know the Doctor."

 **Rose's POV:**

As Martha spoke, things began to make more sense, Rose had pretended not to notice how terrified the Doctor looked when her mother had mentioned Martha, and knowing him, he probably thought he was betraying Rose by having another companion while she was gone. Truthfully she was glad he hadn't been alone, he needed someone by his side to keep him on the right track. "I thought he seemed a bit off when mum mentioned you." Rose smiled as she saw the shock and horror on the Doctor's face. "So you traveled with the Doctor then?" She asked Martha.

Martha looked happy to explain, "For a while," She paused for a moment. "In the end it all just became a bit too much for me, you'll understand what I'm talking about one day Silvia."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to be confused, the horror and shock in his eyes was replaced by befuddlement and curiosity, "Silvia?"

Rose couldn't help be notice the look of sadness her mother cast at the Doctor before Rose shook her head, turning her attention back to Martha, "That's not my real name."

Martha did a double take, looking between Rose and Jackie, "Wait, what? That's what you told me to call you."

Rose breathed deeply before responding, repressing the memories, "Exactly…not many people know my real name anymore…long story short…I'm supposed to be dead. At least here I'm supposed to be dead."

Martha seemed puzzled, "Then if you don't mind my asking, what's your real name?"

Smiling sadly she spoke, "Rose Tyler."

The blonde was shocked as Martha stepped back as if she had been hit by a physical blow to the chest, "Oh my god…he found you!" Rose looked at the girl strangely, "You're the ever elusive Rose Tyler! The girl who got stuck in the parallel universe?! The Doctor would never stop talking about you!" She gasped. Rose glanced over to see the Doctor inching towards the TARDIS's doors, his cheeks flushed. As soon as he met her eyes, he bolted inside, closing the doors quickly behind him. "Someone's embarrassed!" Martha piped before joining in Rose's laughter, "But I'm not lying; he would never stop talking about you and all of your adventures."

Rose finally managed to get control of her laughter, "I'll remember this, I might be able to use this to get back at him for something later." He comment only sent them spiraling into hysteria again.

Finally Martha spoke up again, he voice still cracking as she giggled, "I can't believe I've been friends with Rose Tyler and didn't know it!" She cried, and Rose simply shook her head.

 **Doctor's POV:**

 _"What will Rose's reaction be to me having another companion?!_ The Doctor couldn't stop his mind from spiraling out of control, _"And above that, one of her friends!"_

He rushed over to the TARDIS's main monitor that seemed to be up and running once more and trained it on the two of them. Two both his shock and relief, they were laughing, the Oncoming Storm let out a sigh and leaned against the console, things could have gone much worse. The last thing he needed to do was tear up a friendship.

Without thinking, he began walking deeper into the TARDIS, padding quietly through its winding corridors. When he finally looked up he saw a massive room of trampolines in front of him. Stepping in to what had always been Rose's favourite room, he laid down upon the bouncy surface, gazing up at the ceiling patterned with a star map from Gallifrey. The longer he lay there the more tired he became, and even though he didn't mean to, he fell asleep.

 **Rose's POV:**

Martha and Rose walked into the TARDIS, expecting to see the Doctor standing at the console where he normally spent most of his time, but as they stepped in the doors' he was nowhere to be seen.

Martha was the first to speak as she looked around the room that was much bigger than the box's outward appearance in awe, "Where do you think he is?"

Rose knew just how she felt, just how amazing it was to come back to the time machine, after you think you've left it behind for good, "Let's go find out!"

Martha smiled, "You lead the way, I never really explored the TARDIS much beyond my own room."

"That's a shame," Rose piped as they began walking down one of the endless hallways. "There are so many amazing rooms to explore!" The two girls made their way from room to room, laughing and commenting on the ones they came across. "Let's try the trampoline room, that one was always my favourite."

"Trampoline room?" Martha seemed both excited and confused, "What's that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Rose grinned as they continued down the corridor, "It's a room full of trampolines. When they walked into the room, they barely refrained from breaking down laughing; they had found the Doctor alright, asleep on the springy material.


End file.
